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Pop quiz: What does the top edge of say, your utility closet door look like? I’m betting that you’ve never seen it, even if you’ve lived in your home for awhile. And although there’s not a lot of room to hide stuff in there, well, if you’re like me, the stuff you want to hide is usually on the smaller side. Not many people think of the space inside the door as a hiding spot, but it’s right there in easy reaching distance when you need to get to it. And it’s devious enough that, yes, I think this trick will still be effective even after I blog it all over the web.

You’ll need a suitable hollow-core interior door, a cigar tube, a few tools, and some other odds ‘n’ ends.

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Step #7: Counterbore door

Using a 1" spade bit, with the pilot hole as a guide, counterbore a circular recess about 1/8" deep in the top of the door.

The purpose of this recess is to provide clearance for the washer you mounted to the lid of the cigar tube, so it will sit flush with the top of the door. Thus, you don't need to counterbore any deeper than the thickness of the washer.

Step #9: Use it!

The washer attached to the top of the stash should fit flush with the upper surface of the door. The fit should be loose enough to lift out easily, but not so loose as to rattle when the door is moved.

A small magnet can be used to easily lift the stash clear of the door, as shown.

I am descended from 5,000 generations of tool-using primates. Also, I went to college and stuff. I am a long-time contributor to MAKE magazine and makezine.com. My work has also appeared in ReadyMade, c't – Magazin für Computertechnik, and The Wall Street Journal.

Thanks for your comment. I consciously chose to use a container with a screw-top lid to help alleviate the danger of the container popping loose from the lid, from which it is suspended, and falling into the empty space inside a hollow-core door. If you have a solid-core door or the depth of the recess you cut doesn’t penetrate beyond the solid upper rim of the door, this is not a concern.

Cheers-
SMR

Tod Shorter

internet-
The best and cheapest place to find cigar tubes are on ebay. Though you might be able to purchase one from a local news agents but it is likely to contain the cigar.

Tom Kozak

just keep watching the trash, glancing in dumpsters, etc. pretty much everything you’ll ever need turns up eventually. just don’t eat any of it.

http://www.chattlab.org Jeff Johnson

You could do something similar to make a hidden door lock. If the hole held a spring loaded pin that went into the frame, a magnet could pull the pin down and release the door.

Mica F

Do not drill toward your hand!

Stu J

“You could do something similar to make a hidden door lock. If the hole held a spring loaded pin that went into the frame, a magnet could pull the pin down and release the door.”

Google “tot lok”, a childproofing lock that is exactly that.

Sully Augustine

Neat idea. But I’m wondering why that couldn’t be a six inch wide box several inches deep rather than a cigar tube.

Dan

“I’m wondering why that couldn’t be a six inch wide box several inches deep rather than a cigar tube.” Because that solid part provides stiffness to the door. Taking away a small circular piece will not harm the integrity of the door, but if you remove too much of it, as in your suggestion, the door will definitely loose strength and would possibly deform noticeably.

Sully Augustine

Good point. Thanks.

https://www.facebook.com/mr.mrs.malsack Axli Malsack

You probably shouldn’t be using a magnet to retrieve it if you are keeping that usb drive in there…

nick

Flash drives do not use magnetic storage, so will not be effected by magnets.